


Stop Pulling My Leg

by Aurone



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Hopeful Ending, Injury, Klance Secret Santa 2020, M/M, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28535379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurone/pseuds/Aurone
Summary: Everyone is connected to their soulmate via the red string of fate.  Not everyone can see the string but those who can affect the string (i.e. those who can see the string can pull on the string which can move or trip their soulmate).  Lance cannot see the red string but Keith can.  What happens when Keith pulls the string at the exact wrong time?Written for the Klance Secret Santa 2020 for Hayhodge.  Inspired by thistumblr post
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 93
Collections: Klance Secret Santa





	1. Impact

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hayhodge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hayhodge/gifts).



Lance groggily clawed his way through sleep as he felt his body move across his bed. His eyes widened as he watched his leg disappear over the side of the bed. He felt the rest of his body follow along behind it. Lance was completely awakened by his body hitting the cold floor with a resounding thump. 

He said, “Oof.”

Hunk, half asleep, asked, “What happened?”

Lance watched half asleep as his leg was pulled across his dormitory floor until it stopped halfway across the room. Lance shivered as the floor leached away his body heat. 

_ Why in the Hell do they do that? God, I wish they would just stop! And why is the floor so freaking cold? _

Lance growled, “It’s my freaking soulmate again. They must be pulling the string.”

“Dude.”

Lance stood up. “I know, man. This is getting to be beyond annoying. It’s the third time this month that they have pulled me out of bed.”

“What time is it?”

Lance looked at his bedside clock. “3 am. Don’t they ever sleep?”

“I don’t know, man. Maybe they have insomnia.”

“They must not have to be up early in the morning.”

“Well, we do. We have 8 am lectures tomorrow. So let’s try to go back to sleep.”

Lance sighed. “I know. I’ll try. Sorry for waking you, Hunk.”

“It’s no problem, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Lance got back into his bed and pulled the covers over his body. He laid awake for a little while thinking about his soulmate and the red string of fate that bound them together. 

_ I hope I get to meet them soon so I can get them to stop! They’ve been doing this for years and it's annoying and sometimes dangerous. I wish I could see the string too. It would make it easier to find them.  _

The next morning came way too early. Lance reached out to hush the alarm that he had set for 7 am.

Hunk asked, “Is it morning already?”

Lance replied, “Afraid so.”

Lance sighed as he got out of bed and grabbed some clothes. He headed to their shared bathroom to shower and do his morning skin routine. Hunk was dressed and waiting by the time that Lance came out of the bathroom.

Hunk said, “Just let me brush my teeth and we can go.”

Lance nodded. When Hunk was ready, they both put on their coats, grabbed their book bags, and left the dormitory headed to the large lecture hall for their morning lecture. 

Lance complained, “It’s so cold. Why is it so cold?”

Hunk replied, “It’s December, Lance. It’s always cold in the winter.”

“Not where I grew up it isn’t.”

Hunk sighed. “Want to grab coffee and breakfast after the lecture? It might warm you up.”

“Sure.”

They managed to make it through their morning lecture, paying at least half attention to the information that their professor, Coran, was trying to impart to them. It was easy for Coran to be distracted so only half of their lecture was material that was needed for the exams. The other half of the lecture was filled with side stories and anecdotes. Fun to listen to, but not terribly helpful for mastering the material for the course. After their 8 am class, Lance and Hunk had a two-hour break. They usually migrated to the coffee shop that was across the street from the college campus. The coffee was good and inexpensive. The shop itself sported plenty of plug-ins for student computers and phones. The staff was welcoming to the student population that migrated there daily to study and caffeinate. 

Lance asked, “Want you usual?”

Hunk nodded. “I’ll grab us a table.”

“Sure thing, buddy. Be right back.”

Lance got in line to order for himself and Hunk. When it was his turn, he smiled to see that his favorite barista was working.

He said, “Good morning, gorgeous.”

Rolling her eyes, she replied, “Good morning, Lance. Do you want your usual?”

Lance nodded, “And Hunk’s too.”

She nodded and punched the order into the register. Lance handed over his card to pay for the food. She ran the card and then handed it and the receipt back to Lance. 

She said, “It should be ready in a moment.”

Lance winked at her as he replied, “Thanks, Allura.”

‘You’re welcome.” 

She made a shooing motion with her hand to signal him to move so that she could help the next customer. Lance went and waited by the counter for their order to be ready. When he heard his name called, he grabbed his and Hunk’s order and found the table that his friend had saved for them. 

Lance said, “Here you go, buddy.” as he laid the drink and muffin on the table in front of Hunk. 

“Thanks.”

Lance sat his coffee and pastry on the table before taking off his coat and hanging it on the back of his chair. 

As he settled into his seat he said, “No problem. What did you want to work on while we wait?”

“We have finals coming up soon. Iverson’s is going to be tough.”

Lance groaned. “And it’s worth twenty percent of our grade, if we fail it we won’t pass his class.”

“Hmm. It’s over everything we have covered too, including all the technical notes he gave us that are not in the book.”

“I know, I’m going to fail.”

“You’re not going to fail, Lance. We just have to prepare for it.”

“Will studying together be enough, Hunk? I can’t fail this course. It’s necessary for my major. And I just can’t retake this class with Iverson, I’ll die.”

Hunk chuckled and then seemed to think for a minute. “I know!”

“What?”

“What if we formed a study group?”

“How would that help and who would we get to be in it?”

“Sometimes it helps to see other student’s viewpoints on the material and if there is something we don’t understand, hopefully, someone else in the group will. Pidge is taking the class but is in another section. I am sure she could help us.”

“If she will. But if she agrees, I’ll give it a try. Should we schedule to meet her later this week?”

“That would work, and we could study this week and next. If we did several sessions, then we would definitely be prepared for the final.”

Hunk grabbed his phone and sent a text to Pidge.

**Hunk** : Hey, Pidge. How would you feel about getting a study group together to study for Iverson’s final?

**Pidge:** You bringing Lance?

**Hunk:** Yeah.

**Pidge:** I guess I could help you plebs out. When did you want to do this?

**Hunk:** How about Wednesday after your class?

**Pidge:** Sounds fine to me. Mind if I bring a friend?

**Hunk:** Not at all. We can use all the help we can get.

**Pidge:** See you on Wednesday. 

Hunk put down his phone. 

He looked up at Lance. “Pidge said she’d help us out. She is bringing a friend, too.”

Lance asked, “Pidge has friends besides us?”

“Lance.”

Lance laughed. “When are we meeting them?”

“Wednesday at 3. It’s after their last class of the day.”

“Sounds good, man. Are we meeting in the library?”

“Yeah, I’ll go and reserve us a room.” 

Lance nodded and looked down at his list of assignments that he needed to complete. 

He sighed. “Well, at least after this we will get a break. I can’t believe it’s Christmas already.”

“I know. Are you going home for the holiday?”

Lance shook his head. “We can’t afford the plane ticket for me to go home this year. Things have been tight at home with so many of us kids in college.”

Hunk nodded in understanding. “I’m not going to be able to go home either.”

“Well, then we can have our own celebration, right? I’ll decorate the dorm and you can be in charge of getting us some tasty Christmas treats. It won’t be that bad, buddy. We’ll be able to make it home next year for sure.”

Hunk nodded and wiped a tear from his eye.

Lance thought  _ He is really going to miss not going home this year. I don’t think he has ever missed a Christmas. This isn’t the first year I am going to miss Christmas with my family. It’s always difficult to get everyone together when they are spread out in different countries.  _

They spent the next hour reviewing their notes and working on assignments for different classes. When it was time for their next class, they hurried back across the street to campus. When they got to the engineering building they split ways, Hunk had an engineering class while Lance had history.

Lance waved as he parted from Hunk. “See you back at the dorm, buddy.”

****

Wednesday

It was 3:05 and, as normal, Lance was running late. 

When he breathlessly entered the study room, Pidge said, “You're late.”

“Hello to you too, gremlin.”

“If you want my help, Lance, the least you could do is be on time.”

“I’m sorry, alright. My professor kept me after class to talk to me about the paper that is due. He had some suggestions based on the rough draft that I turned in earlier in the week.”

“I’ll forgive you this time if you buy me coffee after the study session.”

“Done.”

Lance looked around the room and finally noticed the friend that Pidge had brought with her.

The boy sat there wide-eyed focused completely on Lance. 

Lance said, “Take a picture. It will last longer.”

The boy replied, “Huh?”

“You just seemed so entranced by my beauty. . .”

“What?! No. . . I . . . huh?”

Pidge said, “Stop tormenting Keith, Lance. He doesn’t people very well.”

Lance smirked. “I couldn’t tell.”

Keith scowled as he looked at the red string that connected him to Lance. 

_ How in the world is this idiot my soulmate? He hasn’t said anything, so I guess he can’t see the string. Good. Maybe I can just ignore it.  _

Pidge then caught his eye. 

_ Oh, Hell. She knows. Is she going to tell him?  _

Keith could barely contain his panic throughout the study session, sure that Pidge was going to let his secret out any moment. When the group finished, they set a time for a Saturday session and then they packed up and got ready to leave. 

Lance asked, “Still want that coffee, Pidge?”

Pidge replied, “You know it. You and Hunk go on ahead, though. There is something I need to ask Keith.”

Lance shrugged, put on his coat, and then picked up his bag. “We’ll meet you at the curb, but hurry, it's cold.”

Pidge nodded. 

She waited until she was sure that Lance and Hunk were out of hearing range before she turned to Keith and asked, “So when are you going to tell him?”

Keith replied, “Never?”

“What do you mean, never? He’s your soulmate, Keith.”

“So? He’s annoying.”

“He’s not that bad.”

Keith just stared at Pidge. 

Pidged laughed. “Okay, maybe he is. The poor guy has ADD, which makes staying on task very difficult for him, which is why Hunk probably suggested the study group. Having other people around generally helps keep Lance on task. I think he was a little worse today because you were here.”

Keith frowned. “Why?”

Pidge shrugged, “Cause you are a new entity and Lance doesn’t know what to do with you yet. Besides, he probably feels the soulmate pull between the two of you and has no idea what it is since he can’t see the string. Don’t worry, Hunk can’t either so your secret is safe.”

Keith let out a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding. “Good. You can’t tell him either. I’m not ready. I might not ever be.”

_ Who needs a soulmate, anyway. They would just be like everyone else and leave too.  _

Pidge sighed. “You need to tell him, Keith. Someone else out there who can see the string will probably out you sooner rather than later. Lance is going to be hurt if he finds out you knew and didn’t tell him. Plus, that kid has been waiting for his soulmate forever. When we first met in high school, it was all he talked about.”

Keith blushed. “Aren’t they waiting for you? Shouldn’t you be going now?”

Pidge raised an eyebrow at Keith. “Probably. Just think about it, would you? Telling him, I mean.” 

“Sure. I’ll think about it.”

Pidge parted ways with Keith at the front of the library. She walked to where Lance and Hunk were waiting for her.

Lance asked, “Mullet didn’t want to come?”

Pidge, confused, asked, “What?”

“Keith? Did he not want to come too?”

“Oh, I. . . didn’t even think to ask him.”

Lance sighed. “Great. Now he is gonna think we don’t like him or something.”

Pidge shook her head. “No, it’ll be alright. He had something he needed to do, I think. He couldn’t have come anyway.”

“We still should have asked him, though.”

Hunk said, “Nothing we can do about it now, Lance. We’ll just have to be sure to ask him next time.”

***

It happened on their way back from the coffee shop. The trio was standing on the curb waiting for the light to change so that they could cross the street back to campus. All of a sudden Lance collapsed to the curb and felt himself being pulled into the street. He grunted in pain at the impact of the cold concrete on his skin. He sat in the street a moment, confused as he got his breath back. He looked up when he heard the screeching of brakes. All he could see were the headlights of the oncoming car. Lance closed his eyes and prepared for impact. There was no way that he could move in time.  _ This is going to hurt.  _


	2. Repercussions

Lance gasped as he felt his body being jerked backward, he groaned in pain and relief as he landed back on the curb. 

Hunk stuttered, “What. . . Lance! . . . You almost. . . If I didn’t. . . If I wasn’t. . .” 

Lance took in gasping breaths trying to calm himself down. Shaking, Hunk sat down next to Lance on the sidewalk. 

Hunk finally asked, “Are you okay.”

Lance cradled his right arm to his chest. “I think. . . so. My arm. . .”

Hunk asked, “Do you want me to take you to the emergency room? Could it be broken?”

Lance replied, “Maybe? I dunno.”

Pidge said, “We should probably take him to get checked out.”

Hunk nodded. Hunk took a deep breath and let it out. He got to his feet and then helped Lance stand up. 

Once they had safely crossed the street, Pidge asked, “What the Hell happened, Lance?”

Lance replied, “Must have been my soulmate. They have the uncanny ability to pull my string at the exactly wrong time.”

Hunk exclaimed, “They nearly killed you this time! When you finally meet them I am going to give them a piece of my mind.”

Lance said, “I’m sure. . . “

Pidge said, “Don’t make excuses for him. He could have seriously hurt you or even got you killed tonight.”

Lance thought _him? Does Pidge know something I don’t? Can she see strings?_

Lance started, “Pidge. . .”

He was interrupted by Hunk, “Are you coming with us, Pidge?”

Pidge replied, “No. I just remembered there is someone I need to talk to.”

Hunk asked, “Does it have to be tonight?”

Pidge pushed up her glasses. “I think it does.”

Hunk shrugged. “Okay, I’ll text you when we get back and let you know how Lance is.”

Pidge nodded. “Thanks.”

Hunk and Lance got into Hunk’s car and Hunk drove them to the local emergency room. Pidge watched them leave and then she texted Shiro.

**Pidge:** Is Keith there?

**Shiro:** Yes, why?

**Pidge:** I need to talk to him.

**Shiro:** And you can’t call him?

**Pidge:** No. This is an in-person kind of conversation.

**Shiro:** What did he do now?

**Pidge:** I’ll tell you after I kill him. 

**Shiro:** So. . . I’ll expect you soon?

**Pidge:** Yes. I will be there soon. Don’t tell him I’m coming.

Shiro sighed as he set down the phone. _I wonder what he did this time._

A few minutes later Shiro heard a knock at the door. He got up and let Pidge in. 

Shiro asked, “So what did he do?”

Pidge replied, “He nearly killed his soulmate.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“How?”

“He has a bad habit of pulling on his string. Up until now, it's just been annoying for his soulmate.”

“Hold up, you know who his soulmate is?”

“Yep. He does too. He just hasn’t told his soulmate yet and his soulmate can’t see the string so he doesn’t know.”

Shiro sighed. “Keith. So what happened?”

“His soulmate was standing on the curb waiting to cross the street when Keith pulled on the string. It tugged his soulmate into the street and he was nearly hit by a car.”

Shiro grimaced. “Is he okay?”

“Don’t know. A friend took him to the emergency room. He injured his arm. It might be broken. They are going to text me when they know something.”

Shiro shook his head. “Where did I go wrong?”

“I don’t know Shiro, but this nonsense has to stop. I am going to go talk to him.”

“Good luck. He is in his room.”

Pidge left Shiro in the living room and walked down the hall to Keith’s bedroom. She knocked on the door. 

Keith said, “Shiro, I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

Pidge replied, “It’s not Shiro. I need to talk to you now.”

Keith opened the door. “Pidge? What the Hell are you doing here? Why didn’t you just call?”

Pidge walked into Keith’s room. “This is something we need to talk about in person.”

Keith (under his breath) said, “Sure. Come on in.”

He shut the door and turned to face Pidge. “Why are you here?”

“You need to stop pulling on your soulmate string.”

“Why?”

Pidge, livid, exclaimed, “You nearly killed Lance tonight!”

Keith paled. “What?!”

“You pulled him off a curb into oncoming traffic. If Hunk hadn’t reacted so quickly, he would have been hit by a car and probably wouldn’t have survived.”

“I. . . I didn’t know. God, I’m so sorry. I never meant. . . Is he okay?”

“He’s alive. Hunk took him to the emergency room. He hurt his arm. It might be broken.”

“Damn. I. . . what can I do?”

“You need to tell him, Keith.”

“He’s going to hate me.”

_I am going to lose my soulmate before I ever get to know them. And it is totally my fault. I don’t deserve a soulmate._

“Probably not. He is annoyed with you for sure. You’ve woken him up many times over the years by pulling him out of bed.”

“I. . . what? God, I am the worst soulmate ever. I didn’t know it would actually harm him.”

Keith put his head in his hands. Pidge walked over to Keith. 

She pulled his hands away from his face. “It’s going to be okay, probably. You just need to talk to him.”

“I can’t, Pidge. I almost killed him. I don’t deserve to talk to him.”

“But he deserves to hear from you. As annoyed as he has been at you, he’s been waiting forever to meet you. I know you don’t know him, but the poor boy is a romantic at heart.”

Keith swallowed hard. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that would be good. Gives you both a chance to calm down. Give me your phone and I’ll give you his number so you can text him to meet you.”

Keith pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Pidge. She put Lance’s number into his phone. 

She said, “Promise me that you will take care of this tomorrow.”

Keith nodded. “I will.”

“I am going to go home then and for God’s sake leave that damn string alone.”

Keith nodded. He walked Pidge to the front door of the apartment. When he turned from telling Pidge goodbye, he saw Shiro standing in the living room scowling. 

Keith said, “I don’t need another lecture, Shiro. I know I messed up.”

Shiro said, “You almost killed him.”

“I know! I’m sorry! What else do you want from me?”

“Why haven’t you told him yet? Pidge said you knew who it was.”

“Because. . . I don’t know. . . I didn’t think he would like me.”

“Why?”

“He’s so. . . and I’m. . . well me.”

Shiro sighed. “He’s your soulmate, Keith. You are literally made to be together. Please tell me you are going to talk to him.”

“I am. I promised Pidge I would talk to him tomorrow.”

“Good.”

Keith, walking back towards his room, said, “I think I am going to go to bed early. I think I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”

“Ok. Goodnight.”

Keith went into his room and closed the door. He sat down heavily on his bed and sighed. 

_I can’t believe I. . . I didn’t mean. . . I hope he can forgive me. Pidge never did tell me if he was alright. I guess I will just have to wait until tomorrow and see._

Keith laid awake in bed for a long time before sleep found him. 

***

Keith groaned as he awakened to his alarm. 

_God, what I get, like 5 hours of sleep? This is not going to be a good day._

He sat up in bed and grabbed his phone. He sent a text to Lance. 

**Keith:** Hey, Lance? This is Keith.

**Lance:** Keith? How’d you get my number?

**Keith:** Uh, Pidge gave it to me. Hope that was okay.

**Lance:** It’s fine. What did you need?

**Keith:** Any chance we could meet up and talk today?

**Lance:** I guess. Have somewhere in mind?

**Keith:** Coffee shop?

**Lance:** Not sure that I want to walk over there today, buddy. I had an issue getting back from

there last night.

**Keith:** Oh. Okay. We could meet at my apartment. Shiro should be out for most of the day.

**Lance:** Okay. Do you want to meet after my last class? We could walk to your apartment together? My last class ends at 12:50. It’s in the large

lecture hall. 

**Keith:** That’d be fine. See you then.

Keith thought _it’s going to be a long morning._

All too soon, Keith found himself waiting outside of Lance’s last class. 

_I don’t know what we covered in any of my classes. I’ll have to get notes from someone. I kept thinking about this._

Keith idly looked at the red string that extended from his hand. 

_Who knew a soulmate string could cause so many problems?_

Keith looked up when he heard students leaving the classroom. He searched for Lance. He finally spotted him coming out of the classroom. He was carrying his bookbag with his left arm because his right arm was in a cast. 

_Hell, he broke it. I broke my soulmate’s arm._

Lance caught up to Keith. “Sorry, man. I’m a little slow today. Still getting used to not being able to use my arm.”

Keith asked, “Is it bad?”

“The break? Nah. It was a simple break, they didn’t even have to realign it. I gotta spend like 4-6 weeks in the cast though.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, man. I’m just glad I got away with just a broken arm. Pidge said she told you what happened.”

Keith thought _but it is my fault._

Keith shifted his backpack. “Yeah. That’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Lance looked at Keith in confusion. “Why? You didn't have anything to do with it. You weren’t there. Speaking of that, I’m sorry we didn’t invite you to go with us. I thought Pidge asked you to come. We didn’t mean to leave you out.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s really not. I don’t want to leave anyone out, even if you do have a mullet.”

Keith grumbled. “There is nothing wrong with my hair.” 

Lance laughed. “Whatever, man. How much further is your apartment? I’m getting a bit tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Not much further.”

“Okay. Good.”

They walked in silence until they reached Keith’s and Shiro’s apartment. They took the elevator to the third floor. Keith let them into the apartment. He took his shoes off at the door and gestured for Lance to do the same. They stashed their coats and bags in the coat closet. 

Keith asked, “Have you had lunch yet? I could fix us a couple of sandwiches.”

Lance said, “No. I’ve been in class all morning. A sandwich would be great.”

Lance followed Keith into the kitchen and sat down on one of the barstools that were at the kitchen counter. He watched silently as Keith retrieved all the ingredients to make the sandwiches. When he finished the sandwiches, he gave one to Lance.

Lance asked, “So why’d you ask me here, anyway? We don’t know each other that well and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what you wanted to talk about. You could have just texted me if it was about class stuff, you know.”

Keith replied, “Well. . . uh. . . it’s not about class stuff.”

“Okay. Then I have no clue what is going on.”

Keith looked away from Lance for a moment, gathering his thoughts and nerve. 

Lance exasperated said, “Dude, it can’t be that bad. Just tell me.”

Keith looked at the red string that was still connecting them and then looked into Lance’s eyes. “We’re soulmates?”

“Wait. What?!”

Keith looked down at this plate. “We’re soulmates. I can see my string and it is connected to you. Pidge can see them too, so you can ask her if you don’t believe me.”

Lance sat there with his mouth open for a moment in shock. Conflicting emotions cascaded through his body. 

Keith, terrified of the silence, pleaded, “God, Lance say something.”

“You’re my soulmate?”

Keith nodded. 

“You’re the asshole that had been torturing me all these years and nearly killed me yesterday.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. . . I didn’t mean. . .”

“Do you know how many times you have pulled me out of bed in the middle of the night? How many times you have tripped me up? How many bruises I’ve had because of you? And last night. . . I thought I was done. When I saw those headlights. . .”

“I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t realize it was affecting you like that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me on Wednesday?” 

Keith looked up at Lance. “I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“That you wouldn’t want me. We didn’t know each other. What was I supposed to do, Lance? Say, hi I’m Keith and by the way, I’m your soulmate?”

“Or something like that.”

Keith shook his head. “I couldn’t and I’m sorry about that too. If I had told you then, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“What are you wanting out of all this, Keith? Why tell me now?”

“Well, Pidge and Shiro said I should, and I. . . “

“You told Pidge and Shiro before me?”

“No. No. Pidge found out on her own and she told Shiro. I would have never. I wouldn’t. . . .” 

Lance sighed and stood up from the barstool. He began to walk towards the front door, leaving his half-eaten sandwich on the counter.

Keith, panicked, asked, “Where are you going?”

“Back to my dorm.”

Keith, barely holding back tears, said, “Okay.”

“I need to think about this. It’s a lot to unpack. Can I. . . Can I call you or something in a few days?”

“Uh. . . yeah. . . sure.”

Lance put on his shoes and grabbed his bag. He walked out the front door softly closing the door behind him. 


	3. Hanging by a Thread

Keith held in the tears until he was alone. As soon as he heard the click of the door, the tears rolled down his face. He walked out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. He threw himself down on the bed in his room. He put his arms around a pillow and wept. 

_ He’s gone. My soulmate is gone and it's all my fault. If I hadn’t. . . if only I had told him on Wednesday. What do I do now? I’ve never heard of a soulmate rejection before.  _

Keith eventually cried himself out and succumbed to the exhaustion that follows emotional upheaval. That’s how Shiro found him hours later, curled around his pillow asleep.

Shiro shook Keith’s shoulder gently. “Hey bud, are you hungry? We could get some takeout.”

Keith groggily replied, “Not really hungry.”

Shiro nodded. “I’m guessing your talk with Lance didn’t go well.”

“Not really.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Keith shrugged. “What’s there to talk about? I told him I was his soulmate and he left.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“He said he would contact me in a few days.”

“Well, that sounds hopeful.”

“I guess.”

“Well, he didn’t say that he didn’t want you for a soulmate or that he was never going to talk to you again.”

“He might as well have. He didn’t seem overly excited that I was his soulmate.”

“Keith, he’s had a hard couple of days. You broke his arm for goodness sake, and evidently, you’ve been causing him problems his whole life by pulling on the string. How did you expect him to react?”

“Most people are glad to find their soulmates.”

“Most people’s soulmates don’t almost kill them by messing with their string.”

“I’ve wished over and over that I hadn’t done it, Shiro. I never meant to harm him. I just. . .”

“Just?”

“Just wanted to feel connected to someone. You were out, and they all went to coffee together and didn’t ask me. I just felt alone and I wanted to feel connected to him just for a minute.” 

Shiro hugged Keith. “I’m sorry. I wish I had some brotherly wisdom to give you or that I could say that it will be alright. The only advice I can offer is to leave the string alone and give him some time. I don’t know Lance well, but Pidge does and she believes he’ll come around. So this once, let’s trust her and see what happens.”

Keith nodded. “I think I am going to go to bed early if that’s alright.”

“You sure you don’t want to eat first?”

Keith nodded.

“Okay, see you in the morning, Keith.”

Keith lay in bed but the oblivion of sleep escaped him. His mind kept running through the what-ifs. In the early hours of the morning, he finally drifted off to sleep. 

*****

Lance slowly made his way from Keith’s apartment back to the school dormitories. His mind was a whirl of activity. 

_ My soulmate. I met my soulmate. Why didn’t I stay? Talk to him more. He’s my soulmate. But he almost killed me, how do we start over from there? What am I going to do? _

Hunk was in their room when Lance got back.

Hunk asked, “Where have you been, buddy?”

Lance replied, “Talking to Keith.”

“Huh? How come? I didn’t think you knew each other.”

“We don’t.”

“Then what did he want to talk about?”

Lance let out a manic laugh. “We’re soulmates.”

“What?!”

“We’re soulmates, Hunk. It was Keith that almost killed me last night.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean. . .”

Lance sighed. “I don’t know what to think, Hunk. He has been plaguing me since I can remember, but I still wanted to meet him. Maybe ask him why.”

“Well, did you?”

“Did I do what?”

“Ask him why?”

“No, I just left. Told him I would contact him in a couple of days. That I needed to think.”

“Lance.”

“I was surprised. He caught me off guard. I didn’t know what to say.”

Hunk thought for a minute and then said, “Why don’t you give him a chance? Let him explain? Maybe try to be friends with him for now? I mean, the universe did put you two together for a reason.”

Lance hung his head. “Yeah, maybe you’re right, Hunk. I’ll think about it. I just need some space.”

“Okay. Just know I’m here if you need to talk some more.”

“Thanks, Hunk. You’re the best friend someone could hope for.”

Lance crawled into bed and stared at the wall. 

_ What in the world do I do now?  _

***

Several Days Later

Keith was in the coffee shop trying to work on his final assignments and study for his final exams. Their study group had met a couple more times but he didn’t go. He wanted to give Lance some space. 

He was startled when someone sat down across from him and spoke. “So, soulmates, huh?”

Keith looked up in surprise. “What. . . what are you doing here?”

Lance, setting his coffee on the table, replied, “I wanted to talk to you.”

“O. . . kay. About?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “About us being soulmates, of course.”

“What is there to talk about? You don’t want me for a soulmate and after what I did. . .”

“Whoa, hold on there. I never said I didn’t want to be your soulmate.”

“But you left. . . and. . .”

“I needed time to think about things and get myself straight. I mean, so much happened right before I found out that we were soulmates. I didn’t want to do or say something that we’d both regret. I wanted to think through things for once.”

Keith, looking hopeful, asked “Oh. And what did you decide?”

Lance took a deep breath and let it out. “I think I would like to give us a try. If you are alright with that.”

Keith, unable to speak, nodded.

Lance added. “But I think we should take it slow. Maybe friends first and see where it goes? I mean, we don’t know anything about each other. And I. . . I’d like to get to know you. I mean, we are soulmates after all.”

Keith, smiling, said, “That. . . that sounds good. I want to get to know you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end of Keith's and Lance's story. I have a couple of other fics in mind for these two.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays Everyone (a little late). Here's hoping 2021 treats us a bit better. I have a tumbler page where I plan to post an update schedule for my fics on a weekly basis. So drop by and say [hi](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/auronevardell)


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